Finance

Dr. Roger P. Levin is the CEO of Levin Group, a leading dental management consulting firm. Founded in 1985, Levin Group has worked with over 30,000 dental practices. Dr. Levin is one of the most sought-after speakers in dentistry and is a leading authority on dental practice success and sustainable growth. Through extensive research and cutting-edge innovation, Dr. Levin is a recognized expert on propelling practices into the top 10 percent. He has authored 65 books and over 4,000 articles on dental practice management and marketing. He has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and Time magazine and is the creator of the Levin Group Tip of the Day, which has over 30,000 subscribers. To contact Dr. Levin, visit www.levingroup.com or email rlevin@levingroup.com. 

Articles

As a rule of thumb, a general dental practice should spend 59% of its revenue on overhead, says Dr. Roger Levin.

The sooner you control overhead in your dental practice, the sooner you can retire

Stephenie Overman has written about workplace and health issues for Fortune.com, HR Magazine, Employee Benefits News, the Los Angeles Business Journal, and Bulletin to Management. In addition to being author of the book “Next-Generation Wellness at Work,” (Praeger Publishing) she has been editor of Staffing Management and Executive Talent magazines. She was senior writer in the Society for Human Resource Management’s publication department. She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism and political science from Ball State University and a master’s degree in labor studies from the University of the District of Columbia. She taught news writing at Rutgers University.

You don’t want to be in the position of the New York dentist who was fined more than $5,000 for failing to present proper I-9 forms for employees at his dental office.

Don't get hit with an I-9 fine

Tim has spent his entire working life as a financial advisor but the only that that really matters is meeting his wife, Dana Yeoman D.D.S.   In the process of joining lives together Tim learned what the life of a dentist is like.  Seeing his wife's frustration with the complexity of running a dental practice he set out to make things simple.  Since meeting his wife Tim has advised hundreds of dentists on wealth management issues that dentists face.  Tim is CEO of LifeStone Wealth Management - An Dental Only Wealth Management Firm that works with a limited number of dentists for whom he can have a significant impact.  He has also been recognized as a “Best Financial Advisors for Dentists” by Dental Products Report in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016.  He and Dana enjoy exploring California’s wine country,  a good single malt, and raising standard poodles.  Tim can be reached at tim@lifestonewm.com or 855-FIN-XRAY (855-346-9729)

Worried? Frustrated? Overwhelmed? Immobilized?
You may have had one or several of these reactions to the economic downturn of the past few years or as you think about selling your practice in the next few years. You might be asking what your next steps should be. Maybe you don’t have a financial advisor, or if you do, you might wonder if your current plan-or advisor-is really the best for you.

Premium Content: Concerned about your financial health?

A conservative investment plan - paying excellent returns in good years and weathering not-so-bad losses in bad years - will serve dentists well, says Dr. Roger Levin.

The biggest mistakes dentists make: Not working with a professional money manager

Bruce Bryen is a certified public accountant with over 45 years of experience and is a part of Baratz & Associates CPAs. He specializes in deferred compensation, such as retirement planning design; income and estate tax planning; determination of the proper organizational business structure; asset protection and structuring loan packages for presentation to financial institutions. He is experienced in providing litigation support services to dentists with Valuation and Expert Witness testimony in matrimonial and partnership dispute cases. He is also a financial writer for several dental journals. You may contact him at 609-502-0691 or at 

The need for advisory services for the dentist

Relying on outdated dental practice valuations

Alitta Boechler is a marketing manager at Sikka Software. She holds a Doctorate of Audiology from the University of Iowa and an MBA from the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice University.  You can contact her at alitta.boechler@sikkasoftware.com or (408) 359-3014.  For more information about The Practice Optimizer CompanyÂ® please visit https://www.sikkasoft.com/dental/sikka-apps/practice-optimizer-dental/

Attrition is devastating to a practice, and not for the reason most practitioners think. Many assume that they are only losing revenue from one patient, and that there is always another new patient around the corner to make up the difference. However, loss of patients not only results in revenue loss but also in added expenses in marketing and onboarding new patients so the practice can maintain patient flow.

5 ways to stop revenue-killing attrition in your dental practice

Mike Uretz is a nationally-recognized Dental software and Electronic Health Records (EHR) expert. Mike has helped hundreds of individual practices and multi-clinic groups properly evaluate and select software vendors and solutions, structure and negotiate pricing and contracts, provide implementation oversight and vendor management. Mike was a member of the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology EHR vendor certification workgroup, and has been a member of various federal and state working committees for EHR business practices and policy. Having been involved with the EHR Incentive program from day one, Mike has helped a number of states, to evaluate and select EHR vendors, structure contracts and agreements, and manage vendor issues. As co-chairman of the Best practices advisory committee for EHR Contracts, Mike has been instrumental in developing standards for structuring vendor contracts and pricing for use by state programs nationwide He is the founder and editorial director of DentalSoftwareAdvisor.com, a trusted and objective online resource on all matters related to dental software. He is also the point person for Advanstar’s coverage of dental EHRs and their evolving role in the dental industry and can be reached by e-mail at mikeu@dentalsoftwareadvisor.com.

Why would a five-provider dental practice throw away over $300,000 in state subsidies that they were eligible to receive? Probably because they weren't aware of a federal program administered by individual states that has been around for five years now and has distributed over $30 billion to mostly medical practices while many dental practices have stood on the sideline.

State technology subsidies: Dentistry’s best-kept secret

It seems almost every day patients leave the practice to “think about” needed dentistry. Patients’ Path to Dental Care Purchases study surveyed patients who had made, or were planning to make, a dental care purchase that required an out-of-pocket investment. The study findings can provide insight into patients’ decision-making process and how dental teams can help patients accept needed dentistry without delay.

How patients decide to accept, delay or decline care

This article will discuss national trends such as average gross revenue and collections in private dental practices, focusing on the widening gap between the revenue due and the actual dollar amount that is collected by the practice for services and products.

Money